Chinese cities reap record land sales revenue

China's four largest cities reaped record revenues from land sales in the first 11 months of 2013 as the property market continued to thrive despite the government's property purchase limits.

Land sales in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen rocketed 181.72 percent from one year earlier to 472.04 billion yuan (about 77 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-November period, Thursday's Securities Daily reported, citing a report released by China Real Estate Information Corp.

Combining revenue from six other cities including Tianjin, Dalian, Hanzhou and Nanjing, the total income reached 792.89 billion yuan, soaring 121.8 percent compared with the same period last year.

Chinese local governments rely on revenue from the sales to repay debts, especially as economic growth slows. Developers bid up prices because demand from home buyers remains strong. The cycle drives up housing costs and complicates the central government's target to contain runaway housing prices.

Housing prices in 69 of a sample of 70 Chinese cities grew year on year in October, reflecting strong underlying demand for residential homes, according to latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.

The number of cities recording strong price gains of more than 10 percent year on year increased from 14 in September to 21 in October, setting a record high so far this year.